Products such as aerospace and automotive transparencies, optical lenses, coating compositions, fiberglass surface modifiers, etc. are made of various polymers. In an attempt to make better products, scientists and engineers have tried to optimize the performance properties of the polymers used to make the products. Various techniques have been proposed for optimizing the performance properties of polymers.
For example, scientists and engineers have attempted to incorporate nanostructures into polymer matrices to modify the performance properties of a polymer. Because nanostructures have significantly different physical properties from corresponding bulk material and the polymer matrix, incorporating the nanostructures changes the performance properties of the polymer. Nanostructures have been incorporated into polymer matrices to improve the thermal stability of polymers and to decrease the chemical activity of polymers.
Conventionally, nanostructures have been incorporated into the matrix of a polymer by taking pre-made nanostructures and dispersing them into the polymer solution. Typically, the dispersing step includes several other steps such as modifying the surface, mixing, stirring, heating, milling, etc. The conventional process is inefficient due to the multiple steps involved and tends to produce polymers in which the nanostructures agglomerate. When nanostructures agglomerate in the polymer, the nanostructures can effectively become regular sized particles and the desired effect of incorporating the nanostructures is reduced.
The present invention provides an improved process for making a polymer having nanostructures incorporated into the matrix of the polymer. Polymers produced according to the present invention undergo reduced nanostructure agglomeration.